Another veteran of the global investor community is taking a backseat from work due to illness. Michael Moritz, a veteran of early stage tech investment group Sequoia, who has been one of the early spotters of success stories like Google, LinkedIn, PayPal and Yahoo, is taking few steps back from work due to what he termed as a ‘rare medical condition which can be managed but is incurable’.

He did not clearly say what the illness is but in a letter to LPs of the venture capital firm reproduced by Bloomberg Businessweek, he wrote, “I’ve been told that in the next five to ten years the quality of my life is quite likely to decline. Right now I feel fitter than ever and I hope that I’ll be one of the lucky ones who can live a full life and defy the statisticians. But there is no way of predicting this with certainty and thus for me life has assumed a different meaning and I am making some adjustments.”

This follows another veteran US investor Warren Buffett disclosing he has prostate cancer last month.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Sequoia has said Moritz is giving up some of his management responsibilities, including regulatory compliance and recruitments. He will remain involved in making new investments from current and future funds, besides mentoring startups.

In the letter, Moritz said he will step back from the daily management of Sequoia Capital, a role he has been associated with for the past sixteen years. Moritz will become chairman of Sequoia Capital and will work closely with some of the VC firm’s younger and newer members. He will continue in his role as managing member of the existing funds. Moritz said he will take 3-4 months of every year ‘for various pursuits, diversions and trivial indulgences’.

Since mid-90s Moritz has become one of the key names in Silicon Valley investment circle. A former journalist with Time he also wrote a book The Little Kingdom: the Private Story of Apple Computer besides co-authoring a book related to automaker Chrysler.